The Mitt Romney campaign and the Republican Party are clearly not analogous to the Native Hawaiian community, but this year’s presidential election was quite informative to the Native Hawaiian people.

On the national level, the GOP is at a crossroads where it recognizes its failure to adapt to an expected and changing U.S. demographic.

Locally, Hawaii is also experiencing changes. While these changes are broad, the effects are also creeping up, specifically on the Native Hawaiian community.

One indicator of this can be seen in the recent election for the board of trustees for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

In the race for the "at large" seat, one candidate in particular received campaign contributions from people known to argue for the elimination of OHA and other Hawaiian programs. The larger of the two contributions came from out of state. A third campaign contributor also reportedly helped finance a previous legal attack against the Kamehameha Schools.

If these contributions alone are not enough to raise red flags, other facts about this specific election contest should.

According to information at the state Campaign Spending Commission website, apparently 16 percent of contributions to this OHA candidate came from out of state. While all of the top four candidates received some out-of-state contributions, this candidate received the most of such donations.

For me, it is troubling to know that an OHA candidate relied on support from 1) those who prefer the termination of OHA rather than its continuation, and 2) out-of-state contributors.

For the Native Hawaiian community in particular, this year’s OHA trustee election contest should raise several questions.

» Will this candidate — or a similar one — run in 2014 when there are three at-large seats up for election and where third place could likely be a win?

» Will we see increased financial support from OHA’s detractors to future OHA candidates?

» Can we expect an increase in out-of-state money by those seeking to change the inner workings of a unique state agency?

It is important for the Native Hawaiian community — and the larger statewide community — to understand the changes we are facing and prepare for those changes appropriately.